2007 News Story01/02/2007Pilgrims move into Madinah before departing the Kingdom

Pilgrims began arriving in Madinah today after performing the Hajj rituals at the holy sites of Makkah, Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina. In Madinah, the pilgrims will visit and pray at the Prophet’s Mosque. After their stay in Madinah, the pilgrims will depart the Kingdom.

Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Hajj for Umrah Affairs Adel Balkhair said that 66,906 pilgrims left Makkah yesterday on 52 buses, 36 headed towards Madinah and 16 to Jeddah. Balkhair in particular lauded the transportation arrangements this year.

Both pilgrims and Saudi authorities have praised the success of this year’s Hajj, which ran smoothly without any major incidents.

In related news, a daily report on the health condition of the pilgrims noted that 580 have died of natural causes so far.